The seven opposition parties in the state have joined hands to take on the BJP on the issue of loan waiver

The Opposition has dared the Shiv Sena to join the Sangharsh Yatra, the statewide week-long march that began last week, demanding a complete loan waiver for farmers. It has also asked the party to clear its stand on the entire issue and why it backed out after teaming up with them on the issue initially.

The seven opposition parties in the state have joined hands to take on the BJP on the issue of loan waiver. They started a 1,500-km protest rally by boycotting the ongoing state Assembly and are interacting with farmers. The rally started from Chandrapur in eastern Maharashtra on March 29, and will culminate in Panvel, near Mumbai on April 4. The Opposition claimed that it has been receiving good response from the villagers.

“The Shiv Sena has been claiming to be in favour of the loan waiver. Party’s legislators had joined hands with us in the legislature in the first two weeks of the budget session, but now they have changed their stand. Shiv Sena leaders had been saying that their resignations are ready and will be submitted if the loan waiver was not given. My question to the Sena, is what are they waiting for? If the Sena still is firm on the demand, party chief Uddhav Thackeray should join our Sangharsh Yatra immediately,” leader of opposition in the state assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said.

Ashok Chavan, Congress state unit chief, called the BJP-led government worse than the Nizam rule. While addressing a public meeting in Osmanabad and Latur, Chavan said, “The failed policies of the government have destroyed farmers and forced them to go on strike for the first time in history.”

The call over Opposition’s boycott in the lower house during the ongoing budget session will be taken on Wednesday morning. The Opposition has boycotted the proceedings after 19 MLAs were suspended on March 22 for their unruly behaviour during the budget presentation. Though the suspension of nine of them has been withdrawn on Saturday, the Opposition is likely to continue boycotting for the remaining period of the session.